Padded seat base



Jan. 12, 1965 R. 1.. EDWARDS 3,165,307

PADDED SEAT BASE Filed Aug. 21, 1963 .IIIIIIII INVENTOR. EDWARDS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,165,307 PADDED SEAT BASE Robert L. Edwards, Mansfield, Ohio, assiguor to National Seating Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 303,503

4 Claims. (Cl. 267-80) The present invention relates to a base assembly or of padding as a result of the flexible character of the base, with the seat nevertheless having high load strength.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a base unit for a cushioned or padded seat which will, by virtue of inherent spring flexibility, provide extremely comfortable seating with a relatively small amount of cushion or padding applied thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of base assembly for a padded seat in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a fragment of the base plate or body;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale taken on the plane of the line indicated at 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a full transverse section of the FIG. 1 unit at the line 4-4 therein;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing the deformation of the base produced by a person sitting on the assembly;

FIG. 6 shows a modification of the FIG. 1 assembly in respect of its support as a unit; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmented perspective view of the modified form of spring component which can also be used in the assembly.

With reference now to the drawings in detail, the base illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a body 10 of generally square shape in the form of a plate having a down-turned peripheral flange 12. This body thus is generally in the nature of a pan and it is preferably made of aluminum, although other suitable materials can be employed.

The body 10 is provided with a number of slots of general 'U-shape and of varying siZe within the same area, such as shown at 14, 16 and 18. The ends of these several slots all terminate in enlarged circular openings 20 for stress relief, and the body would ordinarily be oriented in assembly ina given seat so that these slot ends would be at the front of the seat. It will be seen that the several slots are symmetrical about a fore-and-aft centerline, with the ends 20 of the slots in a single row or along a line at right angles to said centerline.

The slots are thus rearwardly extending and vary both 3,i65,3%7 Patented Jan. 12, 1965 "ice in width and rearward extent. Thus, the smallest and innermost slot 14 is embraced in outwardly spaced relation on its three sides by the next largest slot 16, and the still larger slot 18 is similarly enlarged and hence in such spaced relation to the middle slot 16.

By reason of the aforesaid slotting of the pan or body 10, there is produced a number of relatively movable sections within a continuous peripheral or marginal section 22 reinforced by the down-turned flange 12 in the form of the sections respectively indicated at 24, 26 and 28, with the first being generally in the form of a tongue and the last two as progressively increasing U-shaped pieces and all interconnected only along the bands at their respective ends which are integral with the front marginal portion of the body.

In order deformably to fix these sections, so that definite limits are imposed on their individual movement away from the general plane of the undeformed body, a series of spring wires are employed in that form illustrated in FIG. 1. There is a first outboard spring wire 30 serving this purpose which is disposed to extend in unflexed condition substantially from the front to the rear of the base. The wire 30 extends generally centrally over one of the legs of the U-shaped plate sections 28, and it is held in place by being passed through a series of upwardly projecting loops formed by lancing and deformation of the pan so as to be integral therewith. At the front end, there are two fairly closely spaced loops 32 and 34 about the front end portion of this wire 30, an intermediate loop 36 is engaged about the wire approximately at its longitudinal center, and two further loops 38 and 40 respectively at opposite sides of slot 18 defining the section. Moreover, the rear end of the wire 36 has a bent end 42 at right angles, and this end is restrained by a clinch tab 44 also formed from the base metal or other material to hook about such end of the wire. There is a mirror image of this spring wire assem bly at the other side of the base, as shown by the primed numerals, in association with the other leg of the section 28.

Similar wire spring elements 46 and 46 are disposed in parallel relation to the wires 30 and 30 generally centrally along the leg portions of the intermediate u-shaped base section 26, and the innermost tongue section 2 has two spring wires 48 and 48' extending and attached in the same manner at each side of the centerline. The tabs are the same in each such further spring occurrence.

The thus described spring arrangement, wherein corresponding ends, here at the rear of the base, are restrained, and the opposite ends each guided by a pair of spaced loops will be seen to permit deflection of the wires out of the normal plane of the base. This displacement, which will adapt to any curvature, is accommodated by effective withdrawal of the spring wires at the front end portions of this environment relative to the base, but the paired portions permit this without the ends becoming free. After a certain amount of withdrawal, the wires will bind in the loops to limit the deflection. It will also be appreciated that the flexibility of this base assembly can very readily be varied simply by changing the gauge or stiffness of the wire springs as desired.

The section of FIG. 4 shows clearly the relation of wire spring 48 to the base, all being the same, and the dashed line 5t) indicates a pad applied to the top of this base.

Such a pad can be of foamed material or any other suit- 3 a:- base and minimum padding; will provide very comfortable seating under widely varying load. A conformable seating contour is thus provided, together with absorption of vertical vibrations.

In the assembly of FIG. 1, the base comprises a fully formed pan unit, whilean' alternate construction is shown in FIG. 6 wherein the body or plate 52' does not have the aforenoted down-turned peripheral flange but is instead fastened to a frame 54 of wood or other material.

Such a simplersheet form, the spring arrangement being thesame, can be applied by any suitable fastening ex-' pedient to almost any type of frame, including direct riveting or screwing to a tubular. frame if desired.

The modification shown in FIG. 7 concerns the type" of spring component used and represents a fiat strip spring 56 in substitution of the previously discussed wire spring. The function and mode of arrangement would be the same, with the fixing of one end tothe body shown as being accomplished by a rivet 53. As in the first form of spring use, the softness or flexibility of the base using the flat spring-can be controlled by the choice of the deformation characteristics of this spring component. It will be also apparent that such modified type of spring can be employed either with or separately of the support modification shown in FIG. 6, the performance characteristics and advantages being on the same order.

7 The invention therefore provides a seat in which there is a base of sufiiciently flexible character, without strength i extending along a face of the plate forming said body to bridge the slots' in the same, and means for retaining said spring members thus disposed on the.body,with said means and spring members providing deflection of the body for contour deformation of the body under the'load.

body for contour deformation of the body under the load,v

said spring membersbeing of predetermined flexibility thereby'to control the resistance of the body to such deflection and hence the 'stiffness'of the seat.

'3; A flexible base as set forth. in claim 2 wherein said 1 spring members are positivelyanchored atone end to the body. 7

4. A' flexible base assembly for a padded seat and the like, comprising a flat .body having a relatively rigid peripheral portion, a plurality of distinct body sections Within the area bounded by said peripheralportion and having, limited: integral connection therewith for relative movement of said sections, and a series; of. elongated spring members disposed on the body and; bridging between said sections and peripheral portion of the body,

loss'or expensive construction, to permit a minimum of padding or other upholstery'to beused) This base is also substantially planar, so that the total thickness with the minimal padding added is quite small.

Other modes of applying the, principle of the invention may be employed, change being madeYas regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such beemployed. I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

' 1. A flexible base for a padded seat and the like, comprising a body in the general form of a plate having slots therein which define a plurality of relatively movable sections, elongated spring members disposed against and said spring members providing limited deformation of the.

base area of the sections forcontour-deformation under a seating load appliedto the base assembly, the spring members projecting only slightly from the body so that.

the assembly therewith provides a generally flat base assembly, whereby the base assembly requires a minimum 'of, padding thereon for comfortable seating.

- References Cited the file of thispatent UNITEDv STATES PATENTS 246,499 Guerrant et al Aug.30, 1881 Story Apr 25, 

1. A FLEXIBLE BASE FOR A PADDED SEAT AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING A BODY IN THE GENERAL FORM OF A PLATE HAVING SLOTS THEREIN WHICH DEFINE A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY MOVABLE SECTIONS, ELONGATED SPRING MEMBERS DISPOSED AGAINST AND EXTENDING ALONG A FACE OF THE PLATE FORMING SAID BODY TO BRIDGE THE SLOTS IN THE SAME, AND MEANS FOR RETAINING SAID SPRING MEMBERS THUS DISPOSED ON THE BODY, WITH SAID MEANS AND SPRING MEMBERS PROVIDING DEFLECTION OF THE BODY FOR CONTOUR DEFORMATION OF THE BODY UNDER THE LOAD. 